to host free screening of movie on Earth Day

BEACHES-EAST YORK

MPP Mary-Margaret McMahon is hosting a free screening of the movie What You Won’t Do For Love at the Fox Theatre in the Beach on Earth Day, which is on Saturday, April 22.

The movie examines our relationship with the earth and reveals the deep love that environmentalists David Suzuki and partner Tara Cullis share.

A Liberal MPP who was first elected to Queen’s Park in the June 2022 Ontario election, McMahon has made climate change and the environment among the issues she champions in the provincial legislature.

The movie will be screened from 10 a.m. to noon on April 22.

Admission to the screening is free, but those planning to attend are being asked to register in advance at https://mmmbey.com/ earthdayfilm/

The Fox Theatre is located at 2236 Queen St. E. in the Beach.

In her newsletter released earlier this month, McMahon wrote about the many ways cies, including foxes, skunks, mink, and even a dog in Oshawa.

Thankfully, for whatever reason, the risk in songbirds, pigeons, and doves is quite low, which is why we haven’t been told to stop using our backyard feeders yet. I wonder though, since blue jays are getting sick, if even that will change soon.

I know a lot of people are wondering what they can do to help.

First and foremost, please stop feeding the waterfowl. We’re not supposed to be doing this anyway, but it’s more important than ever that we all stop. When someone throws a handful of food into the water, or along the shore, and all the ducks, geese, swans, etc. come together to fight for the food, that becomes a prime opportunity for the flu to spread.

Transmission occurs through, “direct contact with fecal or respiratory secretions from infected birds.” (CWHC) Picture all those birds running out of the water to pick up the bird seed, walking through the droppings on the ground, and then pecking at each other to get at the food.

Some of you may remember being told, during the height of COVID-19, to stand several Canada Geese apart to prevent spreading the disease. Well, now we want the geese to stand and swim several people apart to keep them healthy. local residents can help the environment and celebrate Earth Day.

Something else that you could do to help would be to use the Online Reporting Tool, put out by the CWHC, if you find a sick or dead bird.

Their system, using your submissions, allows them to track trends and outbreaks more quickly and accurately and your report will be automatically directed to the relevant regional office. You can find the tool at: http:// cwhc.wildlifesubmissions. org. If you go to their website, you’ll find other useful information and resources.

Remember that you can also call the Toronto Wildlife Centre. Right now, many birds are migrating, and window strikes are more common.

Wildlife Centres and Animal Control have proper PPE equipment to deal with injured wildlife and birds. Ever since I started volunteering with them, I’ve always carried, in my car, N95 masks, double latex gloves, and disinfectant for my shoes and boots.

I am so sorry to have to share this information with you, but it is better for us, our pets, and our wild friends to be safe. Enjoy the spring, and let’s hope for a safe and healthy summer.

“April is Earth Month – a time to raise our environmental awareness and take steps to combat climate change,” wrote McMahon in the newsletter.

“There are many things we can do, big and small, to take action during this time of crisis.”

In addition to watching the film What You Won’t Do For Love and/or helping at one of the various clean ups happening in Beaches-East York, McMahon suggested a number other ways to mark Earth Month in April including:

• Watch documentaries about the Earth.

• Listen to podcasts about the environment.

Read books about protecting the planet.

• Read good news about the environment.

• Tend to your local community garden.

• Clean up litter in your community.

• Restore nature in your area.

Health

DR. KARIN RUMMELL & ASSOCIATES OPTOMETRISTS

1914 Queen St. E. (E. of Woodbine) Mon.- Sat. by appointment 416-691-5757

BALSAM DENTAL Family Dentistry * Open 6 days a week * * Evening hours available * New patients always welcome 2200 Queen St. East (at Balsam) 416-691-8555 www.balsamdental.com

BEACHES OPTOMETRY CLINIC

Dr. Linda Chan, Optometrist and Associates 951 Kingston Rd. (West of Victoria Park) 416-691-1991

DR. LINDA WINTER Psychologist Consultations • Therapy

Individuals • Couples Over 20 years experience. Located at Queen & Wheeler 416-691-1071

Dr. Linda Iny Lempert Psychologist & Psychoanalyst Individuals & Couples Services disponibles en français Insurance Coverage 47 Main Street (at Lyall Ave) 416-694-4380 www.drlempert.ca

Psychotherapy

Tara Shannon M.Ed. Counselling Psychology, RP Registered Psychotherapist Psychotherapy for Individuals and Couples Insurance clients welcome Evening & weekend sessions available 579 Kingston Rd (corner Main) 416 698-6960 tara@tarashannon.ca

Professional Directory

WELLNESS missfit.ca

in-home personal trainer 416 888 6465 mimi@missfit.ca

SPIRITUAL

CHARTERED

416-270-9898 98 Scarboro Beach Blvd.

William F. Deneault Chartered Accountant

• Corporate & Personal Tax

• Specializing in small to medium business

• Financial advice 21 St. Clair Avenue East, Suite 502 Tel: (416) 962-2186

Kriens LaRose, LLP

Chartered Professional Accountants

• Accounting services for owner-managed businesses.

• Personal and corporation income tax preparation.

• Audit and consulting services for not-for-profit organizations www.krienslarose.com 416-690-6800

Melani Norman CPA, CMA Accounting Issues and Systems, Bookkeeping, Personal and Corporate Taxes Call 416-471-0337

Counselling

Catherine Allon, BSc, MEd Caring Solutions for Relationship Issues 416-694-0232 www.energyawakening.com

Spiritual Counselling

CHRISTINE KATO, B.Sc., D.V.M. KATO ANIMAL HOSPITAL

Dashwood & Dashwood Barristers & Solicitors

Geoffrey J. Dashwood 961 Kingston Rd. Tel. 416-690-7222 Toronto, M4E 1S8 Fax. 416-690-8738

Snider & DiGregorio Barristers, Solicitors, Notaries. 978 Kingston Road, Toronto, Ont., M4E 1S9

Tel: 416-699-0424

Fax: 416-699-0285 Email: info@sdlegal.ca

Emily C. Larimer CPA, CGA BOOKKEEPING & PERSONAL TAX RETURNS INCLUDING TAXES IN ARREARS Call: 416-693-2274 emily@eclarimercpa.com www.eclarimercpa.com

Patrick Ruiz Professional Corporation CPA, CA An accountant you can count on For your Small Business Self-employed income & investments Real Estate Rentals 647-300-4062 • patrick@prtaxcpa.com

Beaches Family Law and MEDIATION

Linda Bronicheski, J.D. 47 Main Street (at Lyall) 416-763-6884 Linda@BeachesFamilyLaw.com

Shelly Pereira, Paralegal

Commissioner/Notary, Small Claims, Landlord & Tenant/other Tribunals, Municipal Offences, Letters & Mediation. Call for a Free 30 min. Consultation 647-693-6240 Toronto info@toronto-paralegal.net

Peter J. Salah Family Law Lawyer 124 Merton Street, Suite 300 We Collaborate, Negotiate & Litigate 416.752.8128 peter@salahlaw.ca www.salahlaw.ca

KAMRULHAFIZAHMED

REAL ESTATE LAWYER 416 690 1855 [P 416 690 1866 [F 2972 DANFORTH AVE.

QUINN Family Law

Shelley C. Quinn, LL.B., LL.M. (Family Law) 662 Broadview Ave. t. (416) 551-1025 www.QuinnFamilyLaw.ca

O’Reilly, Moll & Mian Barristers, Solicitors, Notaries Public 300 Main Street 416-690-3324

DENISE BADLEY-CASTELLO

Barrister, Solicitor, Notary Family • Wills & Estates Real Estate 2069 Danforth Ave. (Woodbine) 416-690-6195 dbadleylaw@rogers.com

KATHRYN WRIGHT

Barrister & Solicitor Family Law & Mediation

416-699-8848

2239 Queen Street East www.kathrynwrightlaw.com kathrynwrightlaw@gmail.com

GARRY M. CASS

Kirsten Johnson B.Sc, DipTIRP, RP Psychotherapy for Individuals/Couples

LGTBQ+ / Anxiety / Depression more... Insurance welcome BeyondTheBlueTherapy.com in the comfort of your own home.

Dr. Barbara Houghton 647-221-5516

BARRISTER & SOLICITOR, TEP Wills/Estate Administration/Advice to Estate Trustees 416-767-CASS (2277) x 207 416-795-4899 (cell) 416-491-0273 (fax) garry@garrycass.com

Glover & Associates

Barristers, Solicitors, Notaries

Real Estate, Family, Litigation Wills & Estates, Corporate 416-691-3700

Queen and Hammersmith

Janet D’Arcy DC, FRCCSS (C) Chiropractor Sports Injury Specialist 2455A Queen St. East 416 690-6257 Open Saturdays

John H. BJARNASON, D.C. Chiropractor 1906 Queen St. E. (1 block east of Woodbine) 416-694-2868

BEACHES WELLNESS CENTRE Dr. Johanna Carlo Chiropractic & Registered Massage Therapy 2130 Queen Street East 416-698-7070

ASHBRIDGE’S HEALTH CENTRE

Dr. Emily Howell & Associates Chiropractic, Acupuncture, Orthotics ashbridgeshealth.janeapp.com 1522 Queen St. E. 416-465-5575 www.ashbridgeshealth.ca

MASSAGE THERAPY advancedapproaches massage.com Su Willson, B.MUS, R.M.T. & ASSOC 927 Kingston Rd. (W. of Vic Pk) • Open 7 Days a week • Voted “#1 Spa and Best Massage Therapist in Toronto” 416-694-6767

Stephen G. King, Architect B. Arch. OAA, MRAIC “Serving the Beach since 1987”

Residential, Restorations, Home Inspections, Commercial, Interiors, Landscapes

COMPLETE PROJECT SERVICES FROM DESIGN THROUGH CONSTRUCTION (416) 694-8181 www.stephenkingarchitect.com

Member Ontario Association of Architects

Jen Goddard, R.M.T. Neville Park Health Group 2455A Queen St. East 416-690-6257

FUNERAL SERVICES eco Cremation & Burial Services Inc. Life Celebrations.

Boa Boutique teams up with architect Sapphira Charles to create new look

By Alan Shackleton

BEACH-BASED ARCHITECT and designer Sapphira Charles and Boa Boutique owner Daphne Nissani will be celebrating the makeover of the Queen Street East store this week.

Boa Boutique has been selling fashionable clothing in the Beach for the past 18 years. When it became time to refresh the store’s look, Nissani was excited to team up with Charles to take on the task.

Nissani knew Charles as a customer and felt they had similar senses of style that would work well together.

“I knew she was fabulous with style and we are similar free spirits. I knew Sapphira would be a good fit for this,” said Nissani.

The result is a brighter, more open-feeling store with large front windows that help create a sense of more space.

“It really is the High Street of the Beach here and it deserved a new frontage, and a newer, fresher look,” said Nissani. “It was absolutely a pleasure working with Sapphira, and her style was a perfect fit.’

Nissani said she had talked with Charles about a new look for the store “that was more Spanish influenced, and had lots of curves. Sapphira helped so much with that and did the designs to give it such a modern European look. I am just very happy with the new space. The customers say it looks much bigger, especially with the new window frontage. It’s so much brighter and even friendlier.”

Located on Queen Street East just east of Wineva Avenue, Boa Boutique will be holding an already sold out Grand Opening celebration of the new space on Thursday, April 20.

For Charles, it was a pleasure to be able to help with the redesign of a store she loves and is located in her neighbourhood.

An architect, artist, designer, performer and activist, Charles founded her own company – The Architecture Revolution Inc. – in 2018. Prior to that she had worked

MP for Beaches-East York

with other architectural firms in Toronto including G. Bruce Stratton Architects Inc., and Hanson + Jung Architects Inc.

Charles said according to her research with local architectural associations, her firm is the only one in Toronto that is solely-owned by a Black woman.

“I think that is a big and exciting point of interest here in Toronto in 2023… I’m so honoured, and it also scares me a bit, but I’m excited and honoured to be able to forge forward to make history. I think it’s a pretty big deal. I’ve been pretty quiet about it up until recently, but now it’s time to boldly put myself out there,” said Charles.

She pointed out that according to BAIDA (Black Architects + Interior Designers Association), Black women make up only 0.4 per cent of the architecture and design community.

Like many, she has spent a good part of the pandemic and its recovery period trying to get through but now Charles said its time come

Continued on Page 20

Whether you enjoy sports or not, it is undeniable that sports have brought mankind together for hundreds of years.

Sporting events like the Olympics have gathered millions of spectators from around the world to support, celebrate, and bond over their common interests. Sports range in complexity, strategy, and variety.

In Canada however, we have long upheld and cherished hockey as our nation’s iconic sport. Hockey embodies many prized elements of team sports: fair play, discipline, determination, teamwork, respect, leadership, and community. When these elements are listed, it’s easy to see how these values can and should be applied to life in general.

This month I was fortunate enough to meet with Chris George, Senior Wealth Advisor and Portfolio Manager at Scotia Wealth Management. Chris is not only a skilled and respected investment advisor but he also possesses the prestige of having been drafted in 1995 by the National Hockey League’s Colorado Avalanche.

Both of Chris’ parents were born in Jamaica and came to Canada individually to study. His father became a dentist and his mother a lab technician at Sunnybrook Hospital. They knew each other from back home but reconnected in Canada. Chris and his brother grew up in Mississauga and led a charmed life going to private school and playing hockey.

Not only did Chris play hockey, but he was a gifted athlete playing at the highest levels until he was drafted.

“I got invited to two training camps . . . I played one exhibition game in ’96, scored a goal against Calgary. So that was kind of the pinnacle of my career. I didn’t realize at the time that it was the top,” he said with a good humoured chuckle.

“Then to be honest, I didn’t make it, they offered me a not too great of a deal. I had a pretty good visibility of where I was going to be in their system. So, I decided to go to school. I had a scholarship that I had negoti- ated with my OHL (Ontario Hockey League) team; I had a free ride to any Canadian university.”

Through the influence of his close buddies Chris went to the University of Western Ontario. Life was going well until one night coming home by himself, he was beaten unconscious.

“I got jumped by a biker gang in London, Ontario. I was called an n-word and beaten by a guy with brass knuckles and his biker gang . . . I had 20 stitches in the back of my head . . . that’s as extreme as it (racism) can get. The nuance to it was how it felt. I couldn’t put my hockey helmet on because of the stitches so I had to miss hockey. Which to me was a big deal and I was almost embarrassed. I didn’t want to get in trouble and miss hockey. I actually felt guilt or something for getting in ‘trouble’.”

Up until his teens, Chris hadn’t faced any racism that he was aware of on or off the ice.

As he got older and played at higher levels he said, “I had many experiences (of racism) which is quite common. Especially looking back with the Hockey Diversity Alliance, the Black community came together and we’re all telling the same stories.”

The Hockey Diversity Alliance is an organization set up by hockey players whose purpose is “To eradicate systemic racism and intolerance in hockey”.

Chris acts as an advisor and corporate ambassador for the HDA. Many founders of the HDA were interviewed in the powerful and important documentary Black Ice which was released September 2022.

The documentary explores the history and experiences of Black hockey players in Canada. Many of the stories revolve around the pain of racism these players have experienced in their careers and the deliberate eradication of the Coloured Hockey League of the Maritimes.

Chris shared what he felt about the documentary: “It’s amazing that we were all experiencing the exact same thing, just independently. That’s what resonates.”

In his efforts to pay it forward Chris is deliberate in his intentions to increase the success of young Black folks. For so long many of us have been working in our respective fields alone, navigating the various white spaces without any guidance or representation.

“My journey through hockey, and starting a career on Bay Street, I had different hurdles to face. A big one was you didn’t have people you could really talk to. There was no ‘Uncle John’ who worked at the firm . . . There were very few people that I could look at myself and say well ‘how did you do it? I think I could do it like you did’.

“When I talk about trying to be a part of the solution, that’s what it is. It’s like hockey and Bay Street, quite similar, the access is very tough. If you want to play hockey it’s expensive, but even once you’re in the dressing room, or into the job, you want to have support. You need mentorship. You need support. It has to be deliberate.”

Chris was very intentional when he created the Black North’s Athletes on Track program with his friend.

Athletes on Track is a $5,000 bursary and mentorship

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